The Big Lie: The Muslims, Jerusalem and Archaeology, Part 1

The Arab onslaught to erase the Jewish people's historical connection with the Temple Mount.

In his 1925 autobiography, Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler wrote that people would assume that an outrageous lie must be true because no one would have the audacity to have made it up. Later, that propaganda technique evolved into: If a big lie is repeated enough times it will become widely accepted as truth.

This bit of Nazi propaganda is being used today by the Palestinians. Their Big Lie is preached from the pulpits of the mosques and in the classrooms of their madrasas -- and more and more of the untutored masses are believing it.

What is the Palestinian Big Lie? Palestinian Authority Mufti Ikrama Sabri was quoted in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam (November 22, 1997) as saying that the Western Wall is part of the Al-Aksa Mosque and the Jews have no connection with it. The same newspaper (July 18, 1997) reported that Hamad Yusef, head of the Institution for the Rejuvenation of the Palestinian Heritage, referred to the "false historical claim of the Jews in the holy city, a claim which they were unable to prove in all of the (archaeological) excavations conducted by foreign groups for the past hundred years."

In other words, the Jewish people have no historical connection with the Temple Mount, including the Western Wall, or with any part of old Jerusalem. No archaeological evidence has ever shown otherwise. So they claim.

The absurd assertions continue. Islamic Movement chief Raed Salah stated in 2006, "We remind, for the thousandth time, that the entire Al-Aksa mosque [on the Temple Mount], including all of its area and alleys above the ground and under it, is exclusive and absolute Muslim property and no one else has any rights to even one grain of earth in it."

Sheikh Yusef Kardawi, one of the most influential Muslim clerics, denies that the Jews of old ever lived in Jerusalem and that they are nothing more than invaders from Europe who seized Arab land in the 20th century.

The Palestinian Minister of Muslim Affairs, Sheikh Yusef Salameh, embellishes the ridiculous claims with absurdity: The Al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount was built 40 years after the construction of the mosque in Mecca by Adam, the first man. The former Jordanian Minister of Muslim Affairs, Abed al-Salaam al-Abadi refers to the Muslim prophet Abraham as the builder of the Al-Aksa Mosque 4,000 years ago. Egyptian archaeologist Abed al-Rahim Rihan Barakat writes, "The myth of the fabricated [Jewish] Temple is the greatest crime of historical forgery.(Source: Nadav Shragai, "In the Beginning was Al-Aqsa," Haaretz, November 27, 2005.)

The Saudi royal family , the Palestinian archaeologist Dr. Dimitri Baramki, Sheikh Kardawi, and a multitude of Syrian clerics all identify the ancient Jebusites (from whom King David bought the Temple Mount, see Samuel II, chapter 24) as an ancient Arab tribe that wandered from the Arabian peninsula, together with the Canaanites, around 3,000 years BCE and therefore predated the Jewish presence in the land.(Source: Nadav Shragai, "Christian Zionists See US Devastation as 'A Home for a Home'," September 13, 2005.)

On August 27, 2009 the Jerusalem Post reported that the Palestinian Authority's chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, boasted that there was no evidence to back up claims that Jews had ever lived in Jerusalem or that the Temple ever existed. Israeli archeologists, he said, have "admitted" that Jerusalem was never inhabited by Jews.

To deny the historical connection between the Jewish People and Jerusalem crosses the border of the rational into the realm of absurdity.

This assault on the traditional connection between the Jewish people and their holy city of Jerusalem continues on a daily basis. It is not possible to convince those who believe such foolish assertions otherwise. As Albert Einstein said, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe.”

To deny the historical connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem crosses the border of the rational into the realm of absurdity. The Hebrew Bible details the history of the Israelites and Jerusalem throughout its pages. This is tangibly documented in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written 600 years before the Koran was committed to parchment. Carbon-14 dating verifies the antiquity of the scrolls. The Hebrew Bible mentions Jerusalem and the City of David more than 700 times. The Koran does not mention Jerusalem even once.

The number of ancient, non-Jewish sources, documenting the presence of Jews in Jerusalem is impressive:

1. The Taylor Prism, named for its discoverer, Colonel Taylor, was found in the ruins of Nineveh, Iraq, in 1830. It was composed for the Assyrian king Sennacherib, and details the story of the Assyrian assault against “Hezekiah, the king of the Jews and his capital city, Jerusalem.”

2. The Babylonian Chronicles a collection of ancient tablets recording major events in Babylonian history (presently found in the British Museum), also tell of the Jews and Jerusalem.

3. One of the Elephantine Papyri, (circa 500 BCE) composed in the 17th year of King Darius, talks about the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and its priests.

Many Greek and Roman historians likewise confirm that Jerusalem was a Jewish city.

1. It is irrational to think that all of the above sources, many of whom were anti-Semitic, were part of some Zionist plot against the native Arab-Canaanite population.

Perhaps the most impressive piece of documentary evidence are the histories of the first century CE historian, Josephus Flavius. In Antiquities and Wars of the Jews, he devotes hundreds of pages to the plight of the Jewish People in Jerusalem and the eventual destruction of their Temple. Josephus’ attention to detail, architectural and geographical, is well known and time after time his veracity and accuracy is borne out by archaeological discoveries.

To claim that the great number of Jews were relative late-comers to Jerusalem, some time during the 20th century, is contrary to the facts. Every few years, beginning in 1844, a census was taken in Jerusalem. The census counted separately the numbers of Jews, Arabs, and Christians. In every single census, the Jewish population was the greatest number. In many cases the Jewish population outnumbered the Arabs and Christians combined.

2. The absurd notion that there is no archaeological evidence to indicate a historical Jewish presence in the Holy City is to deny reality. A detailed presentation of all the archaeological evidence would require the pages of a large volume but I shall relate just of few of the archaeological items in brief merely to satisfy our own natural curiosity -- rather than to dispel a falsehood that does not need to be dispelled.

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world and, as would be expected, contains a wealth of archaeological finds. However, evidence of an ancient structure, be it a house, palace, or fortress, does not prove it to be Jewish. Ancient pottery or spearheads by themselves do not show their Jewish origin. We must limit ourselves to the archaeological finds that are unquestionably Jewish in nature. With that constraint understood, we can proceed.

The Temple Mount

1) Ashlars: The Second Temple was completely rebuilt several years before the beginning of the Common Era by the Judean tyrant, King Herod. The Temple complex was built entirely from large stone blocks called ashlars. Herod decreed that the Temple ashlars were to be unique in design and no other building in Jerusalem would be allowed to have that design. Each face of the ashlar was to be smooth and framed with a recessed border. On the Temple Mount today, these ashlars can readily be seen all along the Western Wall, Southern Wall, and parts of the Eastern and Northern Temple walls. These stones are in situ, in their original positions.

These four walls are retaining walls for the Temple Mount. The wall around the Temple Mount rests on solid bedrock and the height of the wall varies greatly depending on the contour of the bedrock. The height of the wall at the Western Wall Plaza is about 107 feet (33 meters) from bedrock to the top. The wall tapers as it rises. (See Talmud Tractate Yoma 28b.) It is about 12 feet thick at the bottom and about three feet thick at the top. Over the centuries, various invaders tried to tear down the wall in order to erase any signs of a previous Jewish presence in the city. However they were only partially successful along the upper regions of the wall due to the fact that the wall increases in thickness as one goes farther down.

If one observes the large ashlars along the bottom of the wall, one can readily see the Herodian (i.e. Jewish) design on these stones. As one looks up toward the mid-height of the wall, smaller ashlars can be seen but these ashlars are missing the Herodian design. These stones were part of a ninth century CE reconstruction of the wall by the Arabs and are consistent with Arab style ashlars. Near the top of the wall, even smaller stones can be seen, also lacking the Herodian design. They are of a later Arab reconstruction of the wall in the 16th century. The unique Herodian ashlars which are in situ testify to the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.

2) Temple's Courtyard Wall: A number of years ago, part of an inner courtyard wall (azarah) of the Second Temple was discovered near the Dome of the Rock. It too had the tell-tale Herodian design. When the Muslims realized that evidence of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount was discovered within a stone’s throw of their holy site, they had the tell-tale signs of the courtyard wall covered with cement. However, earlier photographic evidence confirms the fact that the wall is there.

3) 12 Steps: The Talmudic tractate Middot, dealing with the structure of the Second Temple, describes a flight of 12 steps that led to the main Temple courtyard. Through the millennia, some of the steps of the destroyed Temple could still be seen. As time passed, the steps were dismantled and used by the invaders for other construction works. However, as late as the end of the 19th century, three of the steps remained on the Temple Mount, a bit south of the Dome of the Rock. They did not lead up to anything; they were just there and were ignored by the Arabs. When the Muslim authorities realized it was evidence of a previous Jewish Temple, the steps were buried and blocked from view by a stone wall. A photograph from the late 1800’s of these Temple steps still survives.

4) Stone Markers: The first century historian Josephus Flavius records that on the Temple Mount, at the base of the steps, were a series of stone markers with inscriptions written in Greek and Latin. The inscriptions warned non-Jews from passing beyond that point (Josephus Wars, 5:5). In 1871 one of the stone markers was discovered near the Temple Mount and is presently kept in the basement of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The Turks are not too keen to display proof that the Temple Mount was the site of the Jewish Temple and hence the marker is not on display. However, photographs of the marker are readily available. In addition, in 1935 a fragment of another marker was discovered and is presently on display in Jerusalem’s Rockefeller Museum.

5) "Korbon:" A piece of pottery, more than 2,000 years old, bearing the Hebrew (as opposed to Arabic) inscription korbon (Temple offering) was unearthed in the late 1960’s near the Temple Mount. It is difficult to explain why a piece of dried clay with the Hebrew word for Temple offering would be found next to the Temple Mount if there never had been any Jewish Temple in the city.

6) Shofar Inscription: The Talmud (Sukkah 53b) tells us that in Temple times a shofar was sounded in the Temple on the eve of Shabbat to signal when all labor must cease. During excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority after the unification of Jerusalem in 1967, a large stone was found with the Hebrew inscription Beit HaTokiah, the Place of Shofar Blowing.

7) "Elders:" Those who served on the supreme court of the Jewish people were called the Elders. This term is used countless times in the Hebrew Bible (Tanach). Beginning in the time of King Solomon, when the First Temple was constructed, the seat of the Supreme Court was established on the Temple Mount. During the Second Temple Era, the Elders were commonly referred to by the Greek word Sanhedrin, assemblage, based on the verse “Assemble for Me 70 men, the Elders of Israel” (Numbers 11:16). During the Israel Antiquities Authorities excavations, a few fragments of an exquisitely engraved plaque was found. It bore Hebrew letters but only one word could be deciphered from the few fragments: zekayin, Elders.

8) Bar Kokhba Coins: During the Bar Kokhba rebellion against the Romans, circa 132 CE, Bar Kokhba regained control of Jerusalem and issued coins proclaiming the freedom of Jerusalem. Many of those coins have been found in Jerusalem and one was recently discovered in some debris that came from the Temple Mount.

9) Mikvas: Many mikvas (ritual baths) have been found in close proximity to the Temple Mount. They all conform to the strict regulations of Jewish law as detailed in the Talmud. Based on the pottery shards and coins found in and around the mikvas, they clearly date to the Second Temple era. Any Jew who wished to go to the Temple had to be ritually clean, which entailed immersing in a proper mikva. If the Temple Mount had never been the site of a Jewish Temple and if their never was a Jewish presence in Jerusalem, it would be difficult to explain why a number of kosher mikvas would be found next to a mosque.

10) Hasmonean Coins: The story of Chanukah recalls the miracle of the Menorah burning for eight days and the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greeks. The Maccabees founded a royal dynasty called the House of the Hasmoneans. They ruled from the mid-second century BCE until a few decades before the common era. Hasmonean kings issued coins bearing their names. Thousands of these Jewish coins have been found in and around Jerusalem.

11) Four Gates: Josephus Flavius, who served as a Temple priest, describes four gateways in the Western Wall of the Temple compound (Antiquities, 15:11, para. 5). All four of these gateways have been found and they are exactly as Josephus described them. Traces of all four can be seen today.

12) Menorah Engraving: Shortly after the Old City of Jerusalem was restored to Jewish hands in 1967, archaeological work began. The remains of a mansion were discovered, dating back to the era of the Second Temple. On one of its walls was an engraving of a seven-branched menorah depicting the Temple candelabra exactly as depicted in the Torah. The engraving is presently on display in the Israel Museum.

13) The Israelite Pool: Adjacent to the northern wall of the Temple Mount was a great cistern, constructed when Simon the Just (Shimon HaTzaddik) was the high priest, around 320 BCE. It was filled in during the British Mandate due to health concerns. Numerous photographs and drawings of the great cistern exist. For over 2,000 years it was known by its Hebrew name -- the Israelite Pool (Braichot Yisrael).

14) Quote from the Waqf: And now for the clincher. In 1925, the Supreme Muslim Counsel of Religious Affairs of Jerusalem (Waqf) published a small booklet, a guide to the Temple Mount. On page 4, it reads, “The site is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest times. Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute (emphasis added). This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord.”

The above quote from the Waqf was published around the same time as Adolph Hilter’s Mein Kampf (i.e. the Nazi's Big Lie) was being published. It is no wonder that subsequent editions of this Waqf pamphlet omit the quote.

I must reiterate that the purpose of this article is not to prove anything other than satisfy an intellectual curiosity regarding the historical and archaeological indications of a Jewish, Biblical and medieval presence in the Temple Mount. The real proof is found in the passages contained in the volumes of the Prophets and in the tear-stained pages of the Hebrew prayer book. They contain the history of our Holy City and its glorious Temple. They tell of its heart-rending destruction and of our 2,000-year-long yearning for its rebuilding and for the day of universal peace.

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About the Author

Rabbi Leibel Reznick has been a senior lecturer in Talmudic studies in Rockland County, New York for the past 25 years. He has authored three books (The Holy Temple Revisited, A Time to Weep, and The Mystery of Bar Kokhba) and over 100 magazine and newspaper articles on Jewish History, archaeology, and religious and social issues.

Visitor Comments: 37

(35)
Rav YB,
December 8, 2009 4:51 PM

The Koran states that the holiness of the Temple Mount is there solely due to its holiness to the Jews. It also states that the Holy Land belongs to "The Wearers of the Talit". The "Palestinians" were given a state & their own brothers stole it from them, not the Jews. In a heinous move of evil politics the state of Transjordan was turned into a private playground for a minor Bedouin chieftain & enlarged by illegal force into "Jordan" on both sides of the river. The newly hatched "KIng" Hussein pushed his Palestinian residents into refugee camps in his apartheid moves & as political cannon fodder. So IF anyone sincerely wants a home state for the Palestinians, they should force TransJordan to stop its apartheid policies against the Palestinian people.
The same land grab & refugee game was done by Egypt in the Gaza strip. BTW before the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel Egypt refused to accept offers of getting the Gaza strip by the League of Nations/UN.
Palestinians do live in some Israeli towns/cities. It usually means a rise in crime, despite increased opportunities for health & education. Now also it means more terror attacks. All this is a result from instigation by foreign Arabic governments (& others) seeking to foment strife here. Until that instigation ends there can be no peace no matter the Jews here do.

(34)
Wassim,
November 16, 2009 1:17 AM

Here's a "bloodless" long-term plan for people running out of ideas

How about creating a refugee program for palestinian families to resettle in Israel? Take 10 families a year, and resettle them in an Israeli town and actively help each member of that family become something worthwhile for Israel, the Palestinian people, and the theory of "bloodless efforts for the sake of peace". I mean, you've either got to be active in winning their hearts and minds or be active in destroying their hearts and minds. This "just leave us alone" attitude is not working, it is only prolonging the saga.

Ben,
February 10, 2014 7:03 PM

good question, bad answer

Saudi Arabia is enormous and wealthy. Let them open their territory to resettle all of the Arabs of the world, who are foreign everywhere but Arabia and are making the indigenous peoples of the region from their illegal conquests including Jews miserable. Arab? Arabia? Get it?

(33)
Larry,
November 15, 2009 4:24 PM

Problem In Middle East...

If there is ever going to be PEACE with Israel and the Palestine your have to change both the attitudes from both sides. Israel has to understand that the Palestine have a right to be a country of itself. But the Palestine also have to realize that Israel has the right to protect themselves from attack. If they want to get land, first they have to make PEACE and make sure that know one will do any kind of attack on Israel... Judaism is the holy place for 3 different religions... But is also what part of Jewish People before any other Religion was even started... If the Palestine were capable of doing so, it would have been done before now!

Anonymous,
February 10, 2014 7:05 PM

You have it backwards

Peace will come when the Arabs and the world understand that Israel has a right to be a country of itself, and that Arabs have a right to protect themselves from attack. because if the Arabs recognize Israel's right, the only ones attacking them will be other Arabs and there will be peace, at least for Israel.

(32)
Tova Lea,
November 14, 2009 7:23 AM

Undeveloped, uneducated?

Always attacking Israel! Hope you all will be sent to Sibir - and stay there! PS. Bring warm clothings with you!

(31)
susannah garbutt,
November 13, 2009 2:35 PM

core of judaism, christianity, islam

Rather than everyone fight the eternal fight as to whose religion is 'right' - and getting angry and warlike - these beliefs are not the problem, it is WHAT WE DO WITH THESE BELIEFS' that is the problem. One of my relatives saw it all as that - WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TRAIN, BUT JUST IN DIFFERENT CARRIAGES. Please NO MORE KILLING - GOD DOES NOT WANT MORE BLOOD!!!

(30)
Wassim,
November 13, 2009 5:35 AM

What will it take for Israel to attack?

PR offensive? publish the facts? you think you can reason with the unreasonable? You have 2 options.
1. Attack and replace Islam with Judaism thereby emancipating the uneducated fools and ridding them of their misguided nationalism and the curse that is Islam, or
2. Continue to maintain this same defensive stance that's getting a little boring for my liking. Do you people enjoy having your connection to your most holy site ridiculed by a bunch of illiterates? Do you get your kicks out of being right and having a civilised argument with a fool? Don't you think enough is enough? When will Israel stand up as a force to be reckoned with and simply demand respect, by force if necessary?
Please don't let your godliness impinge on your right to live in peace in your own homeland. And use that phosphurus stuff and spare your soldiers the close combat. The sooner you do it, the less of them you'll have to hurt to acheive their submission (and after submission, which they are programmed to be predisposed to, you should assimilate them immediately). Compulsory jewish learning for every captured Arab. Now that would be a breath of fresh air on this tiresome issue for all of us.

(29)
Itzchak,
November 13, 2009 3:53 AM

Investigation

I want to thank Rabbi Reznick´s work and investigation; I wish it be spread across the international press in order to show the world, jews and gentiles, which is the truth in terms of modern and occidental language.

(28)
Anonymous,
November 13, 2009 12:44 AM

temple mound

you don't have to convince me that the moslem have nothing to do with Jerusalem except when it was invaded by Rome and passed on into their hands.
It takes me for ever to explain that to people but explain I will because the world has to know the truth.

(27)
Ahuvah,
November 12, 2009 11:56 PM

I feel sorry for the Christians....

The Christians dreams and prayers for Jerusalem would really be shattered...imagine not having the Jewish guy JC for their saviour and being told that their Bible is wrog, what war this would cause...I think the Vatican should give us Jews back all our artefacts that they have stored in their basement, then we would have even more proof... Never mind Israel...Our Mosiach will soon be here, and we will have the last laugh...what a day that will be...I truly hope that this beautiful day will come in my life time..Baruch Israel.

(26)
Ben K,
November 12, 2009 9:24 PM

remeber who we are dealing with here (radical Moslems)

who beleive that if a man said he had a "VSion" while all alone in a cave that he is the greates prophet in all history and that his new "prophesized" vision is the replacement of the 2 other montheistic religouns then prevalent at the time. And if you don't believe - your head gets chopped off

(25)
Jim,
November 12, 2009 6:58 PM

One of population table figures is wrong

Great article, great research but the population total given for 1967 is 100,000 more than the sum of the parts so somewhere a figure is wrong or missing.

(24)
Gershon,
November 12, 2009 2:52 PM

Let's go on the the PR offensive!

Rabbi Reznick once again has openned the eyes of anyone wanting to know the truth. Instead of responding to the Muslim's lies, let's plublish the facts and call their bluff. They have no stake to Jerusalem other than certain merits for Bris Milah and the like. The Zohar brings down one opinion that there rights to Jerusalem will last for 400 years. Beginning with 1517 with the Ottomon Empire and ending with the Balfour Declaration in 1917 is exactly 400 yrs. In fact, the Chofetz Chaim was known to have put on bigdey Shabbos (special Shabbos clothing) in 1917 when the Balfour Declaration was signed to signify the end of Moslem domination in Eretz Yitzroel. The Arabs are on borrowed time now. Let's strength our love for God and his Torah and their demise will surely follow in short order!!

(23)
Bobby5000,
November 12, 2009 5:28 AM

These are holy places for both religions

It is certainly appropriate to document our history to show Israel belongs where it is. It is less clear that this comparison of who "owns" religious places is appropriate.

(22)
Anonymous,
November 11, 2009 9:19 PM

What kind of religion is it?

I just don’t get it. Respected Moslem religious leaders preach blatant lies to their followers. The imams ignite and flame the fires of anti-Semitism. Their followers blow up civilians. They aimlessly shoot thousands of missiles into populated areas in Israel. Beheadings are a way of life. They hid behind the skirts of civilians. They fly airplanes into office buildings in far off America and kill thousands of people who are just trying to make a living. The press claims it is the work of Moslem extremists yet not a whimper is heard from the so-called mainstream community of Islam. They say that Islam means peace. If this is peace, would you want to make peace with them?

(21)
Judy Snyder,
November 11, 2009 8:35 PM

If they want to errase all evidence they will have to destroy the ..

If they want to destroy all evidence of our ancestors existence in Jerusalem they will have to destroy the Arch of Titus in Rome. The relief of the "Spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem" is a record of our ancestors having a Temple in Jerusalem for all the world to see.

(20)
arthur,
November 10, 2009 12:34 PM

our Christian friends better beware

if Jerusalem wasn't Jewish where was Jesus and the monetchangers. If the Torah is undermined the new testament falls. If so Jews and Christians are not people of the book or Abrahamic and are kfarirs to be treated in an even more hostile manner. Wake up it IS a cultural/religious war

(19)
Diane McKillop,
November 10, 2009 2:39 AM

forward the article

I think you should publish the email addresses of these Arabs who are saying such ridiculous things so that we can forward this article to them, or better still get it on the secret believers web site.

(18)
Charles C,
November 10, 2009 2:24 AM

Missing centuries

What happened between 2 century CE and 1844 (aproximately 1700 years)were there any jews in Jerusalem ,How many ?

(17)
Jimbo,
November 9, 2009 7:18 PM

But people believe all this!

The problem is that Arab propaganda is succeeding all around the world. As Jews we have little credibility, not to say that we haven't any. In the end, we Jews may lose Jerusalem because the world will believe it's not ours.

(16)
alan,
November 9, 2009 4:08 PM

Islam is based on lies

What else do you expect from them. The Koran instructs them to lie in order to deceive the enemy. This is one of their few non-violent aggressions against Jews and other infidels.

(15)
Jason Powell,
November 9, 2009 2:12 PM

Even crazier

Even crazier their own religious books, multiple times, attest to the area being given to the sons of Jacob as their inheritance.

(14)
Anny Matar,
November 9, 2009 10:49 AM

If you repeat a lie long enough people star believing it

Dear Rabbi,
There is no dounbt about OUR truth but are our voices ever heard? The Arab oil washes all lies and cover any truth behind it.
What surpirses me most is the the Christian world doesn't deny this lie. They have proof that Jesus walked these steps and what is called "the New Testament" testifies that. I suppose no one dares denying it and the Muslims have a field day.

(13)
Kurt Muller,
November 9, 2009 9:58 AM

Western Wall built by muslim?

The Western Wall of the jewish temple was built more than 2000 yeras ago. But Mohammed lived 1300 years ago and started the muslim religion and later they built the first mosque. Is there any doubt about who was first? Not at all. The Western Wall is jewish and from the temple.

(12)
Bar code,
November 9, 2009 7:39 AM

impressive

Very interesting article indeed. Yet we must always remember that the reason we believe in our connection to Jerusalem is not because excavations were done and prove etc. Our Tanach tells us - and we believe (as mentioned in the article). If I feel somewhat more comfortable with matereal proof, i see that as that as flaw in my pure Faith - that ofcourse can be worked on and corrected.

(11)
Robert Miller,
November 9, 2009 4:55 AM

A tangential issue. The character Abraham is alleged to have lived about 4000 years ago. His existence is either historical, mythical or some combination of the two. If it is historical the only evidence so far is what was written in the Jewish bible a few thousand years ago. If it is mythical then it is originally a Jewish myth. For the Muslims, 2500 years after the time of Abraham, to make an historical claim with no hard evidence that they are the descendents of Ishmael is absurd. They have no record of lineage as the people descended from Ishmael. If the story is mythology, then it is Jewish Mythology and for the Muslims to claim it is their mythology, and to make geopolitical claims based on that is audacity of a very odious degree.

(10)
Anonymous,
November 8, 2009 11:40 PM

Weird World of Science Fiction

I am, speechless (!)

(9)
Louis,
November 8, 2009 8:29 PM

Hello. Well, this update truly saddened me and actually scares me as I know that many people believe all this propaganda that the article cites. If we check Samaritan sources it'll back up Rabbi Reznick. Some years ago I read on Samaritans and their Torah and it totally disproved the theory that the books of Moses were written by different authors since the Samaritans broke off from Israel thousands of years ago yet their Torah is identical to ours. Now reconstructionist historians wish to erase us even from history. This actually insults the Christians since their "messiah" was a Jew who often went to Temple. It also insults Muslims since their "prophet" fought alongside many Jews from Jerusalem and the temple area. So we were never there? I'm Sephardic and I know otherwise.

(8)
Kat,
November 8, 2009 8:23 PM

The Quran is at a job interview. The boss asks-Do you have references?- Quran replies, -Torah and Bible, call them. - So the boss calls Torah, and Torah replies, -I have never heard of him. - Confused, the boss calls Bible and Bible says, - I know him; he is a liar and a thief and is actually from Satan, the devil, don't believe him. - Pressed by the boss, Quran defends by saying - They are liars. - And the boss reasons - if they are liars, why do you use them for references unless you are insane?
.......................................................................................
They KNOW they are lying and denying their own Quran:
We did reveal the Torah (Tawrat), wherein is guidance and a light ... Q5:44 And already have we written in the Psalms (Zabur) after the reminder that the earth shall my righteous servants inherit.' Q21:105 Subsequent to them, we sent Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the previous scripture, the Torah. We gave him the Gospel (Injil), containing guidance and light, and confirming the previous scriptures, the Torah, and augmenting its guidance and light, and to enlighten the righteous. Q5:46

(7)
Jerry Friedman,
November 8, 2009 8:22 PM

Excellent, excellent article

What about the rest of the Old City and the City of David? I assume the the New City is beyond dispute even by the Arabs.

(6)
Stan Corbett,
November 8, 2009 4:52 PM

Jerusalem is a Jewish city.

It is now time to show the world that the city of Jerusalem was a Jewish city centries before Mohammed was even born. I will say that Islamic lies must be brought to the world. If we have to say it a thousand times, then that is what must be done.

(5)
Frances Schwartzwald,
November 8, 2009 4:02 PM

Doing nothing keeps the lies alive and growing

Thank you for the wonderful article. Unfortunately for the whole world, the more we do nothing to refute the lies, and the more we kowtow to the liars by giving them presence in the press and more concessions, the less likely it will be that truth will triumph.

(4)
Anonymous,
November 8, 2009 3:56 PM

Check their own bible.

Muslims use the Tanach as part of their own bible. If I am not mistaken, Islam believes in everything that we do - that everything in our bible is true - except that Ishmael was the chosen son, not Avraham. That would mean that they are religiously obliged to believe (or know) that Jerusalem was the Jewish capital. Has anyone tried calling them on it using that? At least maybe to the kids who could still learn to ask questions?

(3)
Anonymous,
November 8, 2009 3:56 PM

A very useful work! Maybe the knowledge of facts enumberd in a/m work can mittigate the attitude of american professors (N. Chomsky, N. Finkelstein) and
rabbis (I. D. Weiss) to fights of zionist?

(2)
ruth housman,
November 8, 2009 3:00 PM

the refutation of outrageous lies

There is no question the Jews have a deep and lasting relationship to The Temple Mount. Sadly, it seems we are in a world in which facts, in which history, is being distorted, constantly. I will never understand how anyone could deny the very existence of the Holocaust, when there are survivors, photographs, a terrible history that is so well documented, of hate, of the evils perpetrated at that time. I mean, what world is it that these people inhabit?
It seems profane to say these things, about the Jews and our rights to the land. And maybe somehow the sacred folds into the profane, at some later date, because I cannot possibly comprehend the lies that are promulgated that seem to be about "the other", about hate. Hate consumes everything, apparently, even history, and that pyre of books, still happens, even AFTER the fact.
Thank you for your most beautiful research. Sadly those who do "know" are the choir, and those who refuse to know, seem intransigent, and living not in this world but in a world dominated by the all consuming fire of hate.
If we ever get it right, meaning all of us, it will be with a humility and sense of the sacred in each other, and of a mutual right to walk the earth, because God is ONE and God is about LOVE.

(1)
name,
November 8, 2009 12:41 PM

Let us not forget that Islam offers up the lie that Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael and not Isaac

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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